The Jim Henson Hour
The Jim Henson Hour was a Syndication network comedy series starring and created by Jim Henson. The show aired from April 14 to July 30, 1989, lasting for one season & 12 episodes (leaving one unaired). It was produced by Jim Henson Productions. Premise The show was modeled after the "Walt Disney Presents" specials, in which every week Disney would show off the latest innovations and creations of his production company. At the beginning of each episode, Jim Henson would enter an oddly-decorated set (alongside the Thought Lion puppet from his series, "The Storyteller") and introduce the evening's show. Beyond that, the series never had a set structure. The room where Henson and the Thought Lion performed their introduction was computer animated. Ordinarily, however, the hour was split into two thirty-minute segments. These shows would always start with a modernized variation of "The Muppet Show" (titled "MuppeTelevision"); that would often lead into more serious and sometimes darker content, such as a rerun of "The Storyteller". Occasionally, a light-hearted story or more Muppet antics would close out the hour in the second half. Cast *Jim Henson as Himself *John Hurt as Storyteller *Erica Lancaster as Amanda *Jennifer Lee as Bootsie *Andrew Wilson as Brad Muppet performers *Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Dr. Teeth, Rowlf the Dog, Link Hogthrob, Waldorf, Muppet Newsman, Swedish Chef, Waldo C. Graphic (demonstration only), Whatnot (demonstration only), Timecaster, Timrek the Gorf, Doglion, Bugsy Them *Camille Bonora as Fern, Jojo, Miss Belle, Blanche, Ruth, Twitch Bunny *Rickey Boyd as Laughing Boy, Aart the Armadillo *Fran Brill as Vicki, Zondra, Merlin's Assistant, Alfonso D'Bruzzo, Maxine, Colleen *Kevin Clash as Clifford, Leon the Lizard, Codzilla, Doglion, Timmy Monster (voice), Zoot, *Ace Yu, Blue Extreme, Green-Furred Frackle, Nick the Anaconda *Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Digit, Cabbage, Doglion, Timmy Monster, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Frisky, Jade Green Frackle, Milton *Brian Henson as Storyteller's Dog, Dog the Dinosaur *Richard Hunt as Beaker, Statler, Lugsy Bunny *Brian Knatchbull *Trish Leeper *Rob Mills as Sweetums, Gramps, Solid Foam Drummer, Ubu the Gorilla (2nd Time), Animal *Jerry Nelson as Lobster, Narrator, Jo Beth Garfdoohoo, Sheep, Shark, Fish, Beard, Wolf, Bubba the Bartender, Luncheon Counter Monster, Cow, a guy with a sword through his head, Garbage, Raccoon, Slim, Orange Extreme, Ralph the Robin *Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear *Mike Quinn *Dan Redican as Beautiful Day Monster, Rhonda, Anthony *Gord Robertson as Lindbergh the Kiwi, Chip, Luncheon Counter Monster, Timmy Monster, Rat, Scruffy, Vinnie Molar *Bob Stutt as Ubu the Gorilla (1st time) *Karen Valleau *Steve Whitmire as Waldo C. Graphic, Bean Bunny, Foo-Foo, Yellow Extreme, Jacques Roach, Flash, Garbage, Billy the Bear, Doozer, Mad Dog, Wilf the Howler Monkey *Sharon Lee Williams – Purple Extreme (voice only) Cancellation and "lost" episodes "The Jim Henson Hour" frequently acknowledged its own low ratings, with segments offering satirical takes on what viewers would rather watch—violent movies, ridiculous stunts, etc. In the end, the show produced just twelve episodes (three of which did not make it to air before cancellation). In 1992, children's cable network Nickelodeon aired "Secrets of the Muppets", one of the lost episodes. They followed with another unaired episode, Living with Dinosaurs, in 1993. The final hour—consisting of the MuppeTelevision installment "Food" and The Storyteller episode "The Three Ravens" (which aired in the UK in 1990); this is the only episode of The Jim Henson Hour that has never aired in the US. After "The Jim Henson Hour", the Muppets would not have another prime-time TV show until "Muppets Tonight" in 1996, six years after Jim Henson's death. Today, the "MuppeTelevision" segments are bundled with the original Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight episodes into a single syndication package. Unused episode ideas In addition to the abandoned hour-long episodes of "The Storyteller", "Lead-Free TV" and picture-book specials, Henson had many ideas for potential episodes or features that were never produced. These ideas included: "The Saga of Fraggle Rock" (a Fraggle Rock origin story), "Inside John" (a variation on Henson's Limbo concept in which the various parts of a seventeen-year-old boy's brain try to wrest control of him throughout a typical day) and "ASTRO G.N.E.W.T.S." (a special that would have blended puppets with animation, computer graphics, and video effects). Other stories were proposed by Jim Henson involving enchanted bowling balls, extraterrestrial mailmen, outer-space adventures, and even a detective story with Kermit and the Muppet gang. Jim Henson also considered adapting Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" and the works of A. A. Milne. Also proposed was "an hour-long musical special featuring The Electric Mayhem in Mexico." Category:1980s television series Category:1989 Category:Syndication